Concern over personal appearance is a virtually universal trait among humans, transcending almost all cultures and societies throughout history. An especially important aspect of this concern is the style and appearance of one's hair.
Hairpieces have become extremely popular as a means for changing the style and appearance of a person's natural hair. Unfortunately, a truly effective technique for attaching hairpieces has not been found in spite of great efforts to reach this end. Such efforts have resulted in some exotic techniques, including hair transplants and surgically implanted hairpiece anchors, but these costly and inconvenient solutions are not the answer for many individuals.
Other, less exotic techniques of attaching hairpieces include hair weaves and the use of adhesives. Hair weaves involve intertwining artificial hair with naturally occurring hair. However, weaves are troublesome because wearers cannot easily and quickly attach or remove the hairpiece. Adhesives, on the other hand, prevent dermal respiration of the scalp and can lead to hair loss.
A common type of hairpiece the fabric band hairpieces, which is composed of hair strands sewn to a single fabric band. This type of hairpiece is attached by snugly wrapping the band around the wearer's head or a clump of the wearer's existing hair. After wrapping the band into place, the ends of the band are fastened together by either tying or snapping them together. Pins and separate combs can be used to further secure the hairpiece to the wearer's head. In spite of this, the fabric-band hairpiece can be easily displaced from its position.
Another drawback of many conventional hairpieces is that they permit only one appearance. Consequently, a wearer must purchase more than one hairpiece to achieve different hair styles.
The drawbacks and limitations of conventional hairpieces demonstrate the market need for a versatile hairpiece that not only permits different hair styles, but also permits convenient and secure attachment to a wearer's head, without the use of pins, glue, or surgery.